By Mike StevensIf 12 holes becomes the
new 18, then it’s time to bifurcate the rules

Several people in golf are calling
for golf to become a 12-hole option to adapt to changing lifestyles.
Jack Nicklaus is one. He recently conducted a 12-hole event at his
course in Columbus which included a larger diameter cup. As a
traditionalist, the idea goes against my nature, but I am also a
realist, and making the game more friendly for the average Dick and
Jane is not a bad idea. Let’s be honest – the professional game now
is so far removed from what everyone else plays that the time for a
bifurcated rule book has come. People should be able to play golf
any way they like. Serious players are always going to play by the
USGA rules. Most people, however, just want to escape the office or
enjoy some time with friends or family. They couldn’t care less
about stroke-anddistance or penalties for grounding a club in the
sand or hazard.

For centuries golf has insisted
that playing by the rules is absolute, labeling anyone that doesn’t
as slackers or cheaters. – someone who should be drummed out of the
game. Well, in tournament play, absolutely. But, less than 2% of
golfers play for a living or in serious events. Why not let everyone
else have fun? Golf has spent to much time catering to the small
percentage of good players. In present times, that will be a
dead-end road. It is time to start paying attention to today’s
society. We have raised a generation of people who want instant
gratification. Most no longer have the patience required for
becoming good golfers. I wish this was not the case, but the reality
is we need a rule book that says, for tournament play, follow these
34 regulations. For recreation, play any way you want.

By Mark Harman

If 12 holes becomes the new 18,
then it’s time to bifurcate the rules

Keegan Bradley won a major with
it. Bill Haas won the FedEx Cup with it. Webb Simpson had a career
year with it.

Of course, we’re talking about
belly putters. And, they’ve caused quite a stir. Many of golf’s
greats and other observers make the case that using a belly putter
isn’t a “real” golf stroke because the end of the putter is anchored
against the body. They also decry the use of the long putter, where
the left hand anchors the putter near the sternum. Bernhard Langer
is the most noted user of this method.

Are these putters really a
problem? If you look at the year-end statistics for the PGA Tour, no
one who uses a belly or long putter is in the top eight of the
“strokes gained” category, the most accurate way to measure putting
success on Tour. Scott McCarron, who uses a long putter, is ranked
ninth. What about those young guns who are causing traditionalists
much consternation over their use of the putter? Bradley is ranked
97th; Haas 84th; Simpson 57th. Doesn’t seem to be much of an overall
advantage to those guys, does it? How about Adam Scott, who claims
the long putter has revitalized his putting? He’s ranked 143rd. Some
revitalization.

We can see statistically that
using such putters is no magic elixir. So, let’s go to the next
question: Is a stroke with a long or belly putter a “real” golf
stroke? No less than Ben Hogan considered putting not even a part of
“real” golf. He proposed a new scoring system where putts only
counted as 1/2 of a stroke, thereby emphasizing the tee-to-green
game.

This writer agrees with Hogan.
Putting is simply different than other golf shots. The technique is
completely different, the ball is rolled instead of elevated, and
the instrument itself has its own set of rules apart from the other
clubs. One example: Want to use a 52” driver? Can’t do it. Want to
use a 52” putter? Have at it.

If even one touring professional
would separate themselves significantly from their
short-putter-using peers statistically, then we might agree the
issue needs to be revisited. But for now, we say belly up to the
bar...er, green...and putt away.